The DMC-ZS60

Panasonic has added five camcorders, two compact cameras, and a lens to its fleet of products at the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas. For PopPhoto readers, the Leica DG Vario-Elmar100-400mm f/4.0-6.3 Asph OIS lens should prove most interesting. Covering a full-frame equivalent of 200-800mm, the lens comprises 20 elements in 13 groups, is splash and dust proof, has its own tripod mount, and is compatible with Panasonic’s Dual Image Stabilization to utilize the lens’s optical image stabilization in conjunction with the sensor-shift stabilization found in select Lumix Micro Four Thirds bodies. Impressive for such a long telephoto, the lens can focus as close as about 4.3 feet at 100mm, or 18.4 feet at 400mm, and has a maximum magnification of 0.5X. Plus, there’s an integrated hood so you won’t forget it at home. You’ll have to wait until April to buy the lens, but it’s expected to cost a relatively reasonable $1,800.

The 20MP DMC-ZS100, with its 1-inch CMOS sensor, 25-250mm f/2.8-5.9 Leica DC zoom lens, and 5-axis hybrid stabilization is likely the more interesting of the two new compacts. It uses the same sensor of the company’s FZ1000, can capture 4K video, and tops out at a sensitivity of ISO 12,800. The 4K Photo function lets you grab an 8MP image from 4K video, while the Post Focus function captures 4K while shifting focus so you can pick the focus point you like the best, or choose multiple. The camera also boasts a 3-inch, 1,040,000-dot touch screen, 5fps bursts with AF at full resolution, in-camera RAW processing, Wi-Fi, and a 1,166,000-dot EVF. Expect the ZS100 to hit stores at the end of March for $700.

Using a 1/2.3-inch 18MP CMOS sensor, the DMC-ZS60 also captures 4K video and sports a 23-720mm zoom lens. It also has a 1,166,000-dot EVF, 5-axis hybrid stabilization, Wi-Fi, and 5fps full-resolution bursts with AF. It also includes the aforementioned 4K Photo and Post Focus modes, as well as a 3-inch 1,040,000-dot touchscreen, and a control ring around the lens barrel that you can use to control zoom, aperture, or shutter speed. Expected to be available mid-March, the ZS60 should cost about $450.

The two higher-end camcorder models are called the HC-WXF991 and HC-VX981. Both include 4K video capture and 4K Photo modes, wireless multi-camera recording, 20x optical zoom lenses with 5-axis stabilization, 8MP BSI sensors, and Wi-Fi. The WXF991 also includes twin-camera picture-in-picture recording and an electronic viewfinder. Both models let you switch between slow motion and regular speed while shooting, and allow for a slow zoom to build dramatic tension, or a dolly zoom effect that keeps your subject’s size relatively the same while the background zooms. The WXF991 is expected to cost $1,000, while the VX981 should cost $900 when the two camcorders become available in March.

The W580, V380, and V180 round out the new camcorders, all of which sport 50x zoom lenses and 5-axis image stabilization. The W580 and V380 both include Wi-Fi and wireless multi-camera recording. Only the W580 includes twin-camera picture-in-picture recording. All three let you use the camcorder as a baby monitor that can be checked through your smartphone if the camcorder is connected to your home network. They’ll also let you stream live video through UStream. The W580, V380, and V180 will be available mid-February for $400, $329, and $300, respectively.

The post CES 2016: Panasonic Announces Camcorders, Compacts, and a Lens appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

Canon has announced two superzooms, three compact cameras, and four camcorders at the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas. In addition to those image capture devices, Canon announced a new Selphy dye sub printer and support for Apple’s AirPrint wireless printing in eight of its existing all-in-one printers, as well as this new printer.

The new PowerShot superzooms include the 20.3MP SX540 HS that sports a 50x optically-stabilized zoom lens covering an equivalent focal length range of 24-1200mm, can record video at up to 1920×1080 60p, and uses Canon’s latest Digic 6 processor. The camera’s Story Highlights function can create a compilation of images and movies, complete with transition effects and music, in the camera. There’s a button for Wi-Fi to make it easier to transfer images to your phone. The SX540 HS should hit stores in March with a price of $400.

Checking in with a 42x optically-stabilized zoom equivalent of 24-1008mm, the 20MP SX420 IS also has a dedicated Wi-Fi button, uses Canon’s older Digic 4+ processor, and captures video at up to 720p. It will be available in February for about $300.

The 20.2MP Elph 360HS is the fanciest of the new compacts with a 12x optically-stabilized zoom lens, a dedicated Wi-Fi button, video capture up to 1080p, and a Digic 4+ processor. It includes the aforementioned Story Highlights function and is expected to hit stores in February with a price of $210. The Elph 190 IS steps down to a 10x optically-stabilized zoom, a 20MP CCD sensor, 720p video capture, and a dedicated Wi-Fi button. The 190 IS should hit stores in February and cost about $160. Rounding out the new compacts is the Elph 180 with a 20MP CCD sensor, 8x optical zoom lens without stabilization, and 720p video capture. It is expected to cost $120 when it becomes available in February.

Of the new camcorders, the Vixia HF G40 is the most exciting. Deemed a little brother to the pro-level XA35 and XA30 camcorders announced last year, the G40 allows full manual control and sports a 20x optical zoom lens with Canon’s 5-axis Intelligent Optical Image Stabilization, a 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen, as well as an EVF. Rings for focus, zoom, and iris control provide a higher level interface than you find on typical camcorders and features such as zebra stripes, color bars, and test tones should make advanced videographers feel more at home. Unlike the XA models, the G40 doesn’t let you add a top handle for mounting XLR mics and doesn’t have an SDI port, but the newly developed 1/2.84-inch sensor promises lower noise than in the G30. Recording tops out at 1080p 60fps, and dual SD card slots let you record to two cards at once, or relay to the second card when the first has filled. Expected to hit stores in February, the G40 will cost $1,300.

For less intense video capture, Canon has the Vixia HF R72, HF R70, and HF R700. All three have 57x optically-stabilized zoom lenses, 3.28MP CMOS sensors, Digic DV4 image processors, and 3-inch LCD touchscreens. Capture tops out at 1080p 60fps in either AVCHD or MP4 format. The three vary only in how much built-in memory they have. The R72 includes a 32GB internal flash drive, while the R70 has a 16GB flash drive. The R700 has no built-in memory. All three of the camcorders include dual SD slots for simultaneous or relay recording. Available in February, the HF R72, HF R70, and HF R700 will cost $450, $400, and $300, respectively.

In an update to the company’s line of portable 4×6 dye-sub printers, the new CP1200 can print up to 54 images per charge when powered by an optional battery. That’s a pretty good increase over the 36 images you could get from its predecessor’s battery. A Wi-Fi button helps make the process of pairing it with a cell phone quicker. In addition to Wi-Fi, you can connect to a computer through USB, or print straight from a USB drive or an SD card. The CP1200 is expected to hit stores soon for $106.

Support for Apple’s AirPrint wireless printing is built in to the new Selphy and is also now available for eight of the company’s existing printers. To see which Canon printers are now compatible with AirPrint, check out the fill list at www.usa.canon.com/airprint

The post CES 2016: Canon’s New Compact Cameras, Camcorders, and Printer appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

We took a preproduction version of the Sony Alpha 99 ($2,798, street, body only) out for a field test a couple of months ago. We thoroughly enjoyed the various innovations that Sony built into its latest transmissive-mirrored camera body—the first of its kind to sport a full-frame sensor. But we never make our final assessments of image quality or other performance criteria until we can test a final production sample. That time has come.

In the Test Lab
The A99 impressed us with an overall image quality rating of Excellent from ISO 50 through ISO 1600. Ironically, though this is a full-rame DSLR, the limiting factor here ended up being noise. To compare, while we saw Canon’s EOS 5D Mark III hold noise to a Low or better rating all the way up to ISO 12,800 in the test in our July 2012 issue, the A99 could make that claim only to ISO 1600. (This doesn’t mean the images are horribly noisy; it just means the Canon’s are cleaner.)

When it comes to resolving power, the A99 delivers a lot, but you might expect it to do even better with its 24.3MP Exmor CMOS sensor. At ISO 50, it served up 2825 lines per picture height. Sony’s last full-frame DSLR, the A900, yielded 3230 lines with its 24.6MP sensor. As the sensitivity increases, though, the A99 does a good job of retaining resolution. At ISO 1600, it achieved 2650 lines. At ISO 6400, the A99 held onto Excellent-level resolution with 2525 lines. At that same sensitivity level, the 5D Mark III outstrips the Sony with 2660 lines, while the Nikon D800, with its much higher-megapixel sensor (36.3MP) schools them both with 2900. At the A99’s top sensitivity of ISO 25,600, it beats the Canon with 2340 lines to the 5D Mark III’s 2150, while the D800 holds the lead with 2470.

Even at its lowest sensitivity of ISO 50, the A99 showed a noise score of 1.6, good enough for a Low rating on our scale. But compare that to the 5D Mark III that scored 0.9 for an Extremely Low rating. While the A99 holds its Low rating up to ISO 800, the Canon doesn’t reach a Low rating until ISO 6400. By that point, the A99 already hits Unacceptable territory in our test. Nikon’s D800 also became Unacceptable by ISO 6400, but showed lower noise at ISO 50 with a score of 1.3, earning it a Very Low rating.

Interestingly, Nikon’s recently released D600 uses a Sony-made 24.3MP full-frame sensor that many people speculate is the same one used in the A99. However, Nikon was able to keep noise to a Low or better rating all the way up to ISO 3200.

In our color accuracy test, the A99 barely achieved an Excellent rating with an average Delta E of 7.9. Both the 5D Mark III (6.9) and D800 (6.8) earned the same rating, but with better scores.

One place where the Sony A99 did exceptionally well is in autofocus speed. This is a new Hybrid AF system, so it’s especially impressive that the A99 proved the fastest in its class. At EV12, the brightest light level in our test, the A99 showed blazing speed by focusing in 0.27 second. It wasn’t until EV6, the equivalent of a very well-lit room, that it fell to 0.36 sec, faster than either the 5D Mark III or the D800 at their best. Even down in the moonlight-like level of EV –1, the A99 focused in less than a second. At EV –2, the dimmest in our test, AF became significantly erratic in its speed, but averaged about 1.14 seconds.

In the field, though, we noticed that the AF sometimes faltered in dim light and hunted quite a bit. This became frustrating and ended up in a few missed shots during one shoot. While this didn’t happen often, it did shake our confidence in the AF a little.

In the Field
We covered most of our field testing observations in our November 2012 Hands On report on a preproduction model, and nothing changed for the worse in the final production sample of the A99 that we tested this time.

However, we want to give a shoutout to the focus-peaking feature, which wasn’t operative on the early sample—this can be amazingly helpful when you focus manually. When shooting portraits, for instance, you can see the surface of your subject’s eye light up to let you know that your focus is spot on. With landscape shots, you can see the focusing distance and place it in the perfect location in the scene. Rarely do we encounter a new feature as helpful as this one.

The Bottom Line
Even though the Canon won our 2012 Camera of the Year award (see page 58), the Sony A99 remains one of the best new cameras we’ve seen this year. It shows that the new perspectives being brought to photography by the likes of traditional electronics companies are having a positive effect on the progression of photographic technology.

If you’re a Sony shooter already and looking for a full-frame body, the A99 is a no-brainer. If you’re considering your first DSLR, you can feel safe investing in the Sony system.

The A99 is just another reminder of how serious Sony is about this business and how intent it is to be among the top echelon of camera makers. If the past few years are any indication, it will play a major role in bringing photographic technology to new heights.

The post Sony A99: Camera Test appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

A great LCD for live view makes stepping up easy.

The heavy action in DSLRs lately has been in the step-up category. These cameras take entry-level models a notch further with improved imaging performance and extra capabilities, notably video capture. The Canon EOS Rebel T1i and Nikon D5000, for example, are aimed at buyers who want more capability than a basic DSLR offers, but don’t want to spring for the prices of a Canon EOS 50D or Nikon D90.

Sony’s new 14.2MP Alpha 550 ($950, street, body only) takes a different tack to attract these photographers. While it doesn’t offer video, it does give the competition a run for the money with other features, notably a faster burst rate (5 frames per second, versus 3.4 and 4 fps respectively for the T1i and D5000) and a greatly superior live-view system.

But this new Sony comes in at a steep (more than $300) price disadvantage to its Canon and Nikon counterparts, and couldn’t quite match their performance in other areas like low-light AF speed and ISO range.

Shines In Bright Light

Not that the A550 didn’t perform well in our tests in the Pop Photo Lab. In AF speed, it beat the competition in bright light. At the brightest part of our test, its 9-point AF system focused in a scant 0.28 second, slowing a bit to 0.48 second at EV 6, about the same as a brightly lit living room. Below EV 6, though, it trailed the Canon and Nikon, and could autofocus down to only EV 0, while its rivals made it down to the moonlit level of EV –2.

As far as ISO sensitivity goes, the A550 fared fairly well. It reaches up to ISO 12,800, though noise was Unacceptable in our test at that setting—even after Sony’s aggressive noise reduction, which ate up more than 500 lines of resolution compared with lower ISOs. Of its competitors, only the Canon goes up as high as ISO 12,800, where noise is also rated Unacceptable but to a lesser degree, while retaining hundreds more lines of resolution than the Sony.

At the other end of the sensitivity scale, the Alpha 550 bottoms out at ISO 200, while its competitors reach down to ISO 100. The T1i showed lower noise than the A550 at every ISO they have in common except ISO 6400, where they tied.

See It Live

Sony continues to deliver the best live-view shooting experience. A simple switch lets you choose between the optical finder and live view. Since the A550 uses a second, small CCD sensor near the pentamirror to provide the live preview, you can use the same phase-detection AF as you do with the optical finder. Other cameras employ slower contrast-detection AF systems in their live view modes.

To add flexibility to live-view shooting, the 3-inch, 921,600-dot LCD screen tilts downward or upward. It doesn’t swivel, like the LCDs of the D5000 and some Olympus DLSRs , but it’s useful when trying to get a shot while holding the camera overhead, or low to the ground.

The only drawback to Sony’s approach is that the LCD shows only 90 percent of the image you’ll capture, while all other manufacturers’ live-view modes show 100 percent. So, you’ll see more of the final image if you use the A550’s 95-percent accurate optical finder.

Like Sony’s new entry-level DSLRs, the A550 uses a graphical user interface. This depicts shutter speed and aperture using horizontal scales with icons at either end, to underscore the need for faster shutter speeds for fast moving objects, and smaller apertures for more depth of field.

It’s a nice system for beginners and a good reminder for the shooters Sony has in mind for the A550. More experienced photographers can choose to switch to a text-only interface.

Everyday Shooting

The body design is significantly better than Sony’s entry-level DSLRs, with a prominent, wellcontoured grip. Though not quite as sculpted as the A850’s grip, it’s still quite nice. A single command wheel is located in front of and below the shutter button. While most single-wheel cameras put it on the back, this worked just as well in our field tests.

Despite our gripes (mostly price-related), we had fun using the A550. On a family outing to a park, it managed to capture our technical editor’s niece as she soared on a swing. With the camera in continuous AF and 5-fps high-speed burst mode, it took little effort to get a keeper.

If we hadn’t needed continuous AF and continuous metering, we could’ve opted for the Speed Priority continuous shooting mode to get up to 7 fps. Setting the camera to our preferences was simple, too, because there are numerous buttons that provide direct access to various functions. Another helpful control: Hit the function button, and you can adjust the most common settings via their display on the LCD—much as you can on some compact cameras. Interested in high dynamic range (HDR) photography? You’ll appreciate the A550’s Auto HDR mode. Turn it on by selecting it in the DRO part of the function menu, and the camera will take two exposures in quick succession with varying shutter speeds, then align and merge them.

By combining an underexposure with an overexposure, it achieves a wider dynamic range than a single, normally exposed image would. (You should use a tripod in this mode, since excessive movement can cause the automatic alignment to hiccup.)

We did see extra dynamic range in our test shots, and we’re impressed that the A550 is able to do this in the camera.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, Sony has made the Alpha 550 with the intention of serving a specific level of photographer. But it’s unfortunate that it didn’t offer it at a competitive price. The Canon EOS Rebel T1i and the Nikon D5000 cost, respectively, $620 and $630 (street), body only—much less pricey.

Moreover, the Canon EOS 50D ($941, body only) is about the same price as the A550, and the Nikon D90 ($810, body only) is less expensive. Both have even faster burst shooting. If you plan to do a lot of live-view photography, you’ll definitely want the Alpha 550. If you’re looking for more traditional shooting prowess, the Canon and Nikon models will outshine it. But if Sony drops the A550’s price to Nikon D5000 levels, then you’ll have a tougher decision to make.

**
Specifications**

Imaging: 14.2MP effective, APS-C sized CMOS sensor captures images at 4592×3056 pixels with 12 bits/color in RAW mode.
Storage: SD/SDHC or MemoryStick Pro Duo stores JPEG, ARW RAW, and RAW + JPEG files.
Burst Rate: Full-sized JPEGs (fine mode), up to 32 shots at 5 fps; RAW, up to 14 shots at 5 fps; RAW + JPEG, up to 7 shots at 5 fps.
AF System: TTL phase detection with 9 illuminated focus points (single center crosstype); single-shot and continuous AF. Tested sensitivity down to EV 0 (at ISO 100, f/1.4).
Live View: TTL phase detection.
Shutter Speeds: 1/4000 to 30 sec, plus b (1/3-eV increments); 100,000-cycle rating.
Metering: 40-segment honeycomb pattern TTL metering, evaluative, centerweighted, and spot (approx. 3% of viewfinder), EV 2–20 (ISO 100).
ISO Range: ISO 200–12,800 (in 1/3-EV increments).
Flash: Built-in pop-up with ADI autoflash and wireless triggering of optional flash units, GN 39 (ISO 100, feet); flash sync to 1/160 sec; dedicated Sony Alpha hot-shoe.
Viewfinder: fixed eye-level pentamirror.
LCD: 3-in. TFT with 921,600-dot resolution.
Output: Hi-Speed USB 2.0, mini-HDMI video, 3-pin remote terminal.
Battery: Rechargeable NP-FM500H Li-Ion, CIPA rating 1,000 shots (with optical viewfinder) or 520 shots (live view).
Size/Weight: 5.4×4.1×3.3 in., 1.6 lb with an SD card and battery.
Street Price: $950, body only; $1,050, with 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6 DT AF lens.
Info: www.sonystyle.com

Viewfinder Test: Accuracy, 95% (excellent); Magnification, 0.8X (Very good)

The post Camera Test: Sony Alpha 550 appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

Nikon D3S

No question, as the first camera with ISO 102,400 to hit the market, the new Nikon D3S ($5,200, body only) is a groundbreaking achievement. Canon’s announcement that its upcoming EOS-1D Mark IV ($5,000, body only) will match that sensitivity only underscores the significance of Nikon’s accomplishment.

But the super-high ISO is only part of the appeal of the Nikon D3S. Its outstanding color reproduction, accurate and fast autofocus and AF tracking, fast full-frame 12.1MP CMOS sensor, and 9-frames-per-second burst shooting make it one of the most powerful imaging tools available. The results of our battery of tests in the Pop Photo Lab earn the D3S an Extremely High rating for overall image quality from ISO 100 through ISO 800. Why not Excellent? Its resolution score of 2330 lines doesn’t quite make our new standard, 2500, for the top rating. But it still turned in a great result for a camera with a 12.1MP sensor.

Color accuracy earned an Excellent rating with a superb score of 6.24. The lower the number the better on this measure, as is also the case for noise and autofocus speed.

The Nikon D3S turned in similarly impressive results in AF speed. In the brightest part of our test, it focused in 0.29 sec, gradually slowing to 0.97 sec in the dimmest level of our test, EV –2.

Noise didn’t reach Unacceptable until ISO 12,800. Even more impressive: It scored our top rating of Extremely Low all the way up to ISO 400.

Of course, at ISO 102,400 noise was quite heavy. But, because we test RAW files converted to uncompressed TIFFs at the manufacturer’s default noisereduction settings, there’s plenty of room to turn up the NR and bring noise down to acceptable levels at ISO 12,800. (This image, shot with a preproduction Nikon D3S, not our test model, was processed using more noise reduction than our test images.)

Handling And Controls

Keeping with what works, the body of the D3S is the shining result of a slow evolution. When we showed the camera to a friend who owns a Nikon D2H (introduced in 2003), he jumped right in and got some great shots. Owners of pro-level Nikon bodies should similarly feel right at home with the D3S.

Buttons for bracketing and flash sit atop a locking dial for drive modes. Metering gets its own locking dial on the right side of the prism. Buttons for ISO, image quality, and white balance are just below the 3-inch, 921,000-dot LCD.

The body is rugged and heavily weather sealed, and it has a grip that’s a work of ergonomic art. Elegantly sculpted, it feels like a natural extension of your arm. The inside of the grip has a perfect divot that accepts your fingertips, and your thumb lands on the camera back in a perfect home position between the main command dial and the multi selector joystick.

The menus are extensive, but they’re also easy to navigate with the multi selector. On the left side of the body you’ll find connections such as Hi-Speed USB, a minijack stereo microphone input, and, to play high-definition video directly from the camera, a mini HDMI jack. Speaking of HD video, the D3S can shoot at up to 1280×720 pixels at 24 frames per second, the same as all other Nikons that shoot video. By now, we’d have expected Nikon to go up to 1920x1080p and at least 30 fps, as Canon has in the EOS 7D and will in the 1D Mark IV.

Real-World Results

In the field, this Nikon performed flawlessly. The Matrix metering did a great job of choosing the right exposure, being fooled only by the toughest scenarios. The 51-point Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus system worked wonderfully with the 3D Color Matrix Metering II system to track subjects by shape and color.

Shooting with a preproduction sample at the Big Apple Circus in New York, the AF nearly perfectly tracked a trapeze artist as he flipped through the air as we panned the camera along with him, capturing full-sized Fine JPEGs at 9 frames per second. Our test sample didn’t make it to the circus, but it did a similarly exemplary job tracking the various subjects we shot.

While we still have to wait to make serious comparisons with the Canon’s EOS-1D Mark IV, as long as you’re fine with a 12.1MP sensor, the Nikon D3S should satisfy your imaging needs. Nikon shooters can feel safe with this camera.

IMAGING: 12.1MP effective, full-frame FX-format CMOS sensor captures images at 4256×2832 pixels with up to 14 bits/ color in RAW mode.

STORAGE: CompactFlash stores JPEG, TIFF, NEF RAW, and RAW + JPEG files.

BURST RATE: full-sized JPEGs (fine mode), up to 82 shots at 9 fps using a SanDisk extreme IV card; uncompressed NEF RAW (14-bit), up to 35 shots at 9 fps. DX crop mode: JPEG (fine mode), up to 130 shots at 11 fps using same card; uncompressed NEF RAW (14-bit), up to 52 shots at 11 fps.

AF SYSTEM: TTL phase detection with 51 illuminated focus points (15 cross-type); single-shot and continuous AF with 3-D focus tracking. Tested sensitivity down to EV –2 (at ISO 100, f/1.4).

LIVE VIEW: TTL phase-detection or contrast-detection autofocus.

SHUTTER SPEEDS: 1/8000 to 30 sec, plus b (1/3-, 1/2-, or 1-EV increments); 300,000-cycle rating.

METERING: TTL metering using 1005-pixel RGB sensor, 3D Color matrix ii, centerweighted, and spot (approx. 1.5% of viewfinder). EV 0–20 (ISO 100).

ISO RANGE: normal, ISO 200–12,800 (in 1/3-EV increments); expanded, ISO 100–102,400.

VIDEO: Records up to 1280×720 pixels at 24 fps in AVI motion JPEG format; built-in mono microphone; stereo minijack input.

FLASH: Dedicated Nikon hot-shoe with i-TTL autoflash; flash sync to 1/250 sec; wireless flash control of optional Nikon Speedlights using wireless commander or Sb-900 or Sb-800 as commander.

VIEWFINDER: fixed eye-level pentaprism. LCD: 3-in. TFT with 921,000-dot resolution.

OUTPUT: Hi-Speed USB 2.0, mini HDMI video, composite video and analog audio, GPS, 10-pin remote-control terminal.

BATTERY: Rechargeable EN-EL4a Li-ion, CIPA rating 4,200 shots.

SIZE/WEIGHT: 6.3×6.2×3.4 in., 3.3 lb with a card and battery.

STREET PRICE: $5,200, body only.

Info: www.nikonusa.com

The post Nikon D3S Camera Test appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

It’s the photographer who makes the picture, not the camera, right? Right—up to a point. As cameras go up in price, they often go up in sophistication; costlier models boast features that can tackle shooting situations entry-level models simply can’t. And, of course, a better camera can make taking great pictures easier and more enjoyable.Is it time to step up to a higher-level DSLR or mirrorless interchangeable-lens compact? Here are 10+ ways an upgrade could give your photography a boost.

Gain More Control

More expensive cameras tend to have more dedicated buttons, dials, and switches, plus more options to customize settings to suit your shooting style. Some mid-level and higher-end DSLRs and ILCs sport joysticks for faster autofocus-point selection. Not to mention the dual command wheels, present in models in the mid-range and up, which make manual shooting smoother.

Higher-end bodies have the latest output ports, such as USB 3.0, or even Ethernet in the most expensive DSLRs.Certain camera features get ampedup when you step up, too.

Higher-end cameras allow a wider range of exposure compensation and let you shoot at plus or minus 5 EV rather than the 3 EV found in entry-level bodies. Pricier models may allow more shots per bracket when auto-bracketing. And you can make multiple exposures of up to 10 frames with some pro-level cameras, while lower-end cameras might limit you to two, if any.

SEE IT

Nothing ruins a day like a dead camera battery, and you may not always have a spare on you. With DSLRs, battery life increases significantly in the better bodies. Canon’s EOS Rebel SL1, for example, which uses a smaller battery than Canon’s other DSLRs, checks in with 380 shots, similar to the Pentax K-S2’s 410 shots. Move up to Pentax’s K-3 II and you’ll jump up to 720 shots. Canon’s EOS 5D Mark III is capable of 950 frames before the battery dies, while the Nikon D750 boasts 1,230. Stepping up to the Canon’s 1D X Mark II will bring you up to 1,210, while Nikon’s D5 can nab an incredible 3,780 frames before the battery depletes.

ILCs and their power-hungry EVFs, on the other hand, typically don’t fare very well when it comes to battery life, no matter how high-end they are. Fujifilm’s hybrid finder demonstrates exactly how much of a drain an EVF can be. When using its optical finder with projected frame lines, the X-Pro2 gets 350 shots per charge, but that drops to 250 when using the EVF. Sony’s Alpha 7R II’s weakest aspect is probably its mere 290 shots per charge.

SEE IT

When you think of a memory card, you probably think of an SD or a CompactFlash (CF) card. But if you want to get the most shots per burst, or record 4K or very high frame-rate video, you should use a card that is more advanced than a standard SD or CF.

Nikon and Canon’s top DSLRs are essentially phasing out the CF card and this means a format war. Nikon was the first to go for a new kind of card, introducing an XQD slot along with a CF slot in its D4s. Canon has now followed suit with a CFast 2.0 slot next to its CF slot. Nikon’s latest, the D5, can be had with either two CF slots or two XQDs.

Meanwhile, UHS-I and UHS-II SD cards have allowed faster writing speeds than ever.

On a more practical level for still shooters, mid- and high-level bodies tend to have two card slots, while entry-level bodies limit you to one. With a second slot, you can have the camera automatically switch to the second card when your first is full. Or you can tell the camera to record RAW to one card and JPG to the other. A second slot can provide peace of mind and also help you organize.

SEE IT

While some entry-level models let you shoot JPEGs until your card is full, that’s usually because their burst rates are slower and pixel counts lower than more advanced models. But if you want to shoot RAW instead of JPEG, pricier cameras give you deeper buffers—one of the more reliable benefits of stepping up. For instance, Canon’s EOS T6s can shoot at 5 frames per second until your memory card is full, but switch to RAW and you’ll max out at 8 frames before you have to pause your shooting. Stepping up to the EOS 80D will get you 25 RAW shots at 7 fps before its buffer fills, and the full-frame 5D stores 18 RAW shots at 6 fps.

SEE IT

The underlying chassis of some entry-level cameras are made from plastic parts and are less likely to have weather sealing. Mid-range and higher-end models are usually built with a tough yet lightweight magnesium-alloy chassis—a sign that the body is built to last. Couple that with solid weather sealing and you’ll be ready for tougher conditions.

Ricoh’s Pentax line, for example, includes serious weather sealing across all of its DSLRs, but the K-S2, its step-up model (one notch above its entry-level DSLR), has more than 100 weather seals.

SEE IT

Less expensive DSLRs and ILCs tend to have APS-Csized sensors that have about 40 percent of the surface area of a full-frame 35mm sensor. With less room, APS-C format cameras have to use smaller pixels compared with full-framers to achieve the same pixel count. If all else is equal, these smaller pixels generally bring with them more noise. So a switch to a camera with about the same pixel count but a larger sensor should yield cleaner images at higher ISOs. Micro Four Thirds (used in Olympus and Panasonic ILCs) and 1-inch sensor sizes are smaller than APS-C, and the same rules apply.

While better noise performance is generally desirable, sometimes you just want all the pixels you can get. Canon’s 50.6MP EOS 5DS currently boasts the most pixels of any 35mm-format (full-frame) camera, and Sony’s 42.4MP A7R II follows pretty close behind. Both offer images with tons of fine detail, but can’t match the clean images at higher ISOs that you’ll get from even more expensive cameras, such as Canon’s EOS-1D X Mark II and Nikon’s D5. So within a given camera system, stepping up to a more costly body can gain you cleaner images, but how much cleaner will depend on whether you prioritize clean images or super resolution.

SEE IT

Whether you prefer optical or electronic viewfinders, you’ll get superior accuracy and greater maximum magnification when you upgrade. Most entry-level DSLRs give you only 95-percent accurate finders—that is, you see only about 95 percent of what will end up in the image while you shoot—making precise framing more difficult. (Electronic viewfinders tend to provide 100-percent accuracy at all levels.)

Magnification refers to how large the frame will look compared to how you view the world with your naked eye. The lower the magnification, the more of a tunnel-vision effect the finder will have. Most APS-C-format, entry-level DSLRs do OK, with magnification specs around 0.8X or slightly higher, while less expensive full-frame models can get as low as 0.7X. If you step up to a finder with 1.0X magnification, you’ll be able to shoot comfortably with both eyes open, which is useful if you need to see what is outside the frame as you work. While EVFs are typically 100% accurate, they vary in magnification, so stepping up still has benefits. If you prefer a true rangefinder instead of a prism or an EVF, your only current option is a Leica. But Fujifilm’s top-of-the-line X-Pro2 offers a unique hybrid finder that is the closest approximation of a rangefinder we’ve seen, while also letting you switch to an EVF.

SEE IT

In the world of DSLRs, laying down more dollars will let you capture more shots with a single press of the shutter button. Entry-level cameras typically offer a continuous drive at about 5 frames per second; mid-level bodies amp bursts up to 7 fps. And the highest level DSLRs can go as fast as 14 fps with full metering and focusing between frames, or 16 fps if you lock the mirror up, which means that you limit yourself to the AF available in live-view or video mode.

These rules don’t apply to mirrorless cameras. ILCs often cite fast burst rates, but they usually lock both focus and metering before the burst begins. So if you pan across an area with changing lighting conditions or if the distance to your subject changes, you may have to revert to a slower burst rate unless you go up the line.

AUTOFOCUS PRECISELY

When it comes to DSLRs, their phase-detection autofocus systems can have as few as 9 focusing points or well over 100. But the number of focusing points doesn’t tell the whole story.

That 9-point system might only have one cross-type focusing point (think a plus sign instead of a minus sign) in the center that can handle only lenses with an f/5.6 maximum aperture or larger. At the other end of the spectrum, Nikon’s high-end D5, for example, has 153 AF points, all sensitive to f/5.6 or larger, 99 of which are cross-type and 15 of which allow maximum apertures as small as f/8. If you use long telephoto lenses with teleconverters, you may end up with a lens that is the equivalent of an f/8 maximum aperture. Sometimes a better camera body can mean the difference between being able to use AF or not.

The distribution of those AF points also matters, especially when you’re trying to track a subject. Nikon’s D500 uses a full-frame AF system in an APS-C format body. As a result, the AF points reach further towards the sides, top, and bottom of the frame, thereby extending the areas of effective AF tracking. It also keeps you from having to lock focus and recompose, which is best avoided if you’re shooting wide open with fast glass.

When it comes to ILCs, there’s less variation in capabilities, but you’ll typically find the fanciest systems in the pricier models. The hybrid contrast/embedded phase-detection systems do sometimes include more phase-detect points, or more selectable areas, in pricier bodies. They also push the sampling rate faster to speed up the focusing process.

SEE IT

This is an area where the best is really at the top of the line, but some less-expensive cameras still deliver more than you might expect. Nikon’s D3300, an entry-level DSLR, can record 1080p video at up to 60 fps. This can help create smoother looking, normalspeed video, or let you do half-speed slow motion. Meanwhile, for the price of a mid-level DSLR, you can use Panasonic’s Lumix GH4 to shoot 4K at 24 fps, or 1080p at 60 fps. At the highest level, Nikon’s D5 will let you record 4K at 30 fps or 1080p at 60 fps, while Canon’s 1D X II allows 4K capture at 60 fps or 1080p at up to 120 fps.

The post What Does Upgrading To A Better Camera Actually Get You? appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

The post Photo of the Day: Sunday February 22 2009 appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

ricoh gxr main

That overused adjective “unique” finds a wholly appropriate partner in the Ricoh GXR, which turns the concept of the interchangeable-lens compact (ILC) on its head. Unlike ILC cameras from Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony, the GXR employs interchangeable camera modules, each housing its own lens, imaging sensor, and processing engine.

So far, three “camera units,” as Ricoh calls them, are available: the 10MP 24 –72mm equivalent f/2.5–4.4 S10 ($437, street, module only; $800, with body), the 12.3MP 50mm equivalent f/2.5 macro A12 ($829, street, module only; $1,176, with body, and the P10, comprising a 10MP CMOS sensor and 28–300mm equivalent f/3.5–5.6 lens. (If you want a backup, the GXR body alone can be bought for $547, street.)

Typical of Ricoh’s compact cameras, the GXR body feels more solid than the usual compact. It and the camera modules have magnesium-alloy chassis similar to what you’d find in many DSLRs. The rails used to slide the body and modules together are made of stainless steel that has gone through a soft-nitriding process to make them less prone to scuffing and more resistant to corrosion. The connector is unlike any we’ve seen on camera equipment, and the modules exchanged flawlessly in our field tests. One of our testers managed to misalign the rails on the first attempt to attach a module, but had no further trouble afterwards.

Also typical of Ricoh compacts, you’ll find more than the usual complement of customizable buttons, along with very utilitarian menus. The typeface is on the small side, but we like the look of these menus.

The Direct menu, located on the left of the camera body, gives you quick access to the most commonly changed settings, such as ISO, white balance, and AF mode. Want to control these with your right hand? You can assign any of them (up to four) to the ADJ rocker switch, which you can also push inward to make selections or activate its custom menu. We found this switch, located right next to your thumb, more convenient to use than the menu in field testing.

The controls in the Direct menu can also be assigned to one of the two custom function buttons on the eight-way control pad, also on the right side of the camera. Not only does the 3-inch, 920,000-dot LCD have impressive resolution, Ricoh says it recreates the entire sRGB color gamut, again something you won’t fi nd on most compacts and a boon to those who plan to use their images online. There are three choices for grid overlays: A Rule of Thirds grid divides the screen into nine areas, and another adds horizontal, vertical, and diagonal center lines to the Rule of Thirds grid. A third option puts framing corners where the Rule of Thirds lines would intersect, plus hash lines indicating the centers of each side of the frame. Though out of the ordinary, the third option provided the most usefulness for the least amount of clutter, while the second option proved overly distracting.

If the horizon lines in your landscapes are often askew, you’ll like the tilt indicator. Little bars let you know how much your camera is tilted to one side or the other and lights up green if you’re level and orange or red if you’re not. It can also be set to beep intermittently when the camera is level, though we expect this would become annoying after a while.

For those times when you’ll know the distance you’d like the camera to focus to, such as when shooting a speaker at a podium, you can set the GXR to focus to certain preset distances. Among the choices is infinity, which is useful for landscapes.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the GXR’s nifty features stop once you take the picture. The playback screen can display up to 81 images at a time on its LCD screen, and the camera will let you delete multiple images at a time, selected individually or in one long range.

There are also a handful of fixes you can apply to images in the camera, such as cropping, resizing, white balance adjustments, and levels adjustments. That last one works like the Levels adjustment in Adobe Photoshop, showing you a histogram while you make your changes. There’s also something Ricoh calls skew correction that you can use to compensate for distortion due to perspective. This should prove useful for architectural shooters.

The features we’ve described so far apply to whichever module you use with the GXR body. Now we’ll take a look at the two camera units we tested.

S10 Wide-to-Tele Unit
A sensible entry point into the GXR system, at 24–72mm (fullframe equivalent) the S10 covers a versatile range of focal lengths, while its maximum aperture range of f/2.5–4.4 makes it faster than most DSLR kit lenses.

But unlike DSLRs, and the newest ILCs from Samsung and Sony, the S10’s 10MP CCD sensor is a small 1/1.7-inch type, similar to the size used in many compact cameras. The APS-C sensors used in most consumer-level DSLRs have more than 8.5 times the surface area of this one.

The difference really showed when it came to noise performance, where the S10 scored an unimpressive Moderately Low rating at ISO 100, increased to a Moderate rating at ISO 200, and ranged well into Unacceptable from ISO 400 through its top sensitivity of ISO 3200. This is on par with most compact cameras, but compared with ILCs it comes up short—all Micro Four Thirds cameras to date have scored acceptable noise results through at least ISO 800. For more detailed ILC test results, see our Shoot-Out.

In our resolution test, the S10 turned in average results for a 10MP camera with 1850 lines per picture height. Color accuracy scored an Excellent rating with an average Delta E of 6.7 from RAW files converted to TIFFs using Ricoh’s Irodio software (included).

Outside of all the controls and capabilities of the GXR system, what sets the S10 apart from most compacts is its ability to shoot RAW files. Midlevel and advanced shooters will thus find the GXR more to their liking, particularly in postprocessing. While most RAW shooters will be less than enthusiastic about the unintuitive Windows- only Irodio software, Photoshop users can always opt for Adobe Camera Raw, as the Ricoh uses Adobe’s DNG file format for RAW capture.

In the field, the S10 module handles much like a compact. While autofocus speed is on par with Micro Four Thirds cameras from Olympus—quick compared with most compacts—it’s still slower to lock on than a DSLR.

We were impressed, though, by its ability to track a subject moving toward or away from the camera. Once it locked focus for the first shot (we highly recommend prefocusing), the S10 was able to hold focus as the subject moved.

Taken on its own, the S10 doesn’t significantly outperform a compact camera. Many compacts have greater zoom ranges, are just as sharp, and give you similar noise performance—though they tend not to have color reproduction this accurate, and very few of them capture RAW.

The S10’s biggest benefit comes from being a part of the GXR system, with more advanced controls than most compacts, a nice LCD screen, and more solid construction. So if you like the luxury of the GXR feel, then the S10 kit could make sense.

A12 Prime Macro
Of course, the other advantage to the GXR system is your ability to switch out the lens, sensor, and processing in a group. With the A12’s 12.3MP APS-C-sized sensor, this represents a serious upgrade over the S10. Resolution increases to 2075 lines in our test, and noise remained in the acceptable range through ISO 800. Color accuracy scored Excellent, with an average Delta E of 6.98.

Autofocusing could be tricky. In the macro range, the A12 behaves as many DSLR macro lenses do—hunting and sometimes failing to achieve focus. We can’t really knock Ricoh for this, as the problem is pretty much endemic to macro AF, and the company deserves some credit for limiting the focusing range with the lens in macro mode. Ultimately, though, we found it better just to use manual focus in macro. Ricoh makes this easier with the A12 by including a focusing ring on the lens. But, as with Four Thirds lenses, the ring doesn’t physically engage the focus mechanism—instead it activates electronic control of the focusing motor.

In this case, the actual focusing is rather slow, which can be annoying if you have to move it far. But you do get finer control of focus placement—important when shooting in the macro range. We just wish there was more tactile feedback in the ring, and the ability to speed up the focusing.

Equivalent to the 50mm field of view of a 35mm camera, the A12 can be used as a normal prime at non-macro focusing distances. While the AF may still hunt at normal distances, typically it finds focus in a reasonable amount of time.

Plus, set to continuous AF, once the system locks on, it does a surprisingly good job of tracking the subject. As with the S10, we suggest prefocusing when tracking.

Outside of the focusing quirks, we enjoyed the A12 module, maybe even more than the S10. As with normal DSLR lenses, it proves more versatile than you might at first think.

The GXr System
Overall, Ricoh’s GXR system is off to a decent start. Like most of Ricoh’s cameras, it stands apart from typical compacts by offering a thoughtful alternative to the usual control schemes—customizable to your liking and geared toward photographers who know a thing or two—or plan to learn. For now, it remains to be seen what modules Ricoh will offer in the long run other than the 28–300mm f/3.5–5.6 unit, which uses a small 1/2.3- inch CMOS sensor typical of compact cameras. We’re hoping for something wide and fast enough for street shooting.

SPECIFICATIONS: A12 Camera Unit

• Imaging: 12.3MP effective, APS-C sized CMOS sensor captures images at 4288×2848 pixels with 12 bits/color in RAW mode.
• Storage: SD/SDHC stores JPEG, DNG RAW, and RAW + JPEG files.
• Burst rate: Full-sized JPEG (Fine Mode), up to 15 shots at 3 fps; RAW, up to 4 shots at 3 fps.
• AF system: TTL contrast detection with single shot or continuous.
• Shutter speeds: 1/3200 to 180 sec (1/3-eV increments).
• Metering: 256-zone TTl metering, evaluative, centerweighted, and spot.
• Video: Records at 1280×720 at 24 fps; 640×480 at 24 fps; 320×240 at 24 fps in Motion jPeg aVi; built-in mono mic.
• ISO range: 200–3200.
• Flsah: Built-in pop-up with range from 0.7 to 9.8 feet (auto iSO).
• LCD: 3-in. TFT with 920,000-dot res.
• Output: Hi-Speed uSB 2.0, mini HDMi video, composite video.
• Battery: Rechargeable DB-90 li-ion, CIPA rating 320 shots.
• Size/weight: 4.5×2.8×3.0 in., 1.1 lb when attached to body, with SD card and battery; 2.7×2.3×2.8 in., 0.6 lb camera unit alone.
• Street price: $1,176, with gXR body; $829, camera unit only.

SPECIFICATIONS: S10 Camera Unit * Imaging: 10MP effective, 1/1.7-inch CCD sensor captures images at 3648×2736 pixels with 12 bits/color in RaW mode. * Storage: SD/SDHC stores JPEG, DNG RAW, and RAW + JPEG files. * Burst rate: Full-sized JPEGS (Fine Mode), up to 15 shots at 1.6 fps; RaW, up to 5 shots at 1.6 fps. * AF System: TTl contrast detection with single shot or continuous. * Shutter speeds: 1/2000 to 180 sec (1/3-eV increments). * Metering: 256-zone TTl metering, evaluative, centerweighted, and spot. * Video: Records at 640×480 at 30 fps; 320×240 at 30 fps in Motion JPEG AVI format; built-in mono microphone. * ISO Range: 100–3200. * Flash: Built-in pop-up with range from 0.7 to 14.8 feet (at widest angle, auto iSO); 0.5 to 8.9 feet (at telephoto, auto iSO). * LCD: 3-in. TFT with 920,000-dot resolution. * Output: Hi-Speed uSB 2.0, mini HDMi video, composite video. * Battery: Rechargeable DB-90 li-ion, CiPa rating 410 shots. * Size/weight: 4.5×2.8×1.7 in., 1 lb when attached to gXR body and with SD card and battery; 2.7×2.3×1.5 in., 0.4 lb camera unit alone. * Street price: $800, with GXR body; $437, camera unit only.

The post Test: Ricoh GXR With A12 and S10 Camera Units appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

canon 60d main

Hands On: Canon EOS 60D

You don’t have to search far to find an overriding theme for Canon in 2010: high-definition video. Every new DSLR introduced by the company this year has included it, and the new EOS 60D ($1099, body only) is no exception.

While the new camera has the same video capabilities as the EOS 7D ($1,545, street, body only) and EOS Rebel T2i ($800, street, body only), the models above and below it in the lineup, it also includes a first for a Canon DSLR—a 3-inch, tilting and swiveling LCD with 1.04 million dots. This articulated screen makes it far easier to follow action during video capture and to shoot stills with the camera in unusual positions.

We spent several days shooting with a preproduction sample on a visit to Yellowstone National Park, hosted by Canon, and got a good sense of how the camera handles and what you can expect from it in day-to-day use. But because its firmware, the software built into every camera, was not yet in final form at press time, we have not been able to subject the 60D to the rigors of the Popular Photography Test Lab. We’ll update you as soon as we can get a final production sample.

Body Design
While not a radical departure from the EOS 50D it replaces, the 60D has some subtle enhancements to the camera body.

The grip is now covered with a coarser-textured rubber reminiscent of that of the pro-level EOS-1D series cameras. The mode dial now has a lock—push down a button in the middle to change to another shooting mode. We like this, as it will prevent you from inadvertently switching modes. It takes a bit of dexterity to change the shooting mode one-handedly, but within an hour or two, we were moving from one mode to another with a modicum of grace.

You’ll definitely want to practice with that dial, because the 60D forces you to use it to switch to video capture. Worse, movie mode is the last option on the dial, putting it as far from the standard manual, program, and aperture- and shutter-priority modes as it can possibly get. If Canon had only designed the mode dial to rotate a full 360 degrees, the placement would’ve been perfect. Even better would have been to put a switch on the back of the camera for direct access to video mode, as on the EOS 7D.

Canon also did away with the tiny joystick found on the 50D and other midlevel and high-end EOS models. In its place, the 60D has an eight-way control pad with a ring around it that serves the same function as the 50D’s rear command dial, plus a button in the center to select menu items. At first this pad felt strange, but after some use we warmed up to it and appreciated the extra room it leaves for the thumb.

Still, we would have liked more tactile feedback from the pad—it was sometimes hard to tell if our settings were registering with the camera. Something like a subtle click would go a long way toward reassuring you that the desired inputs had been made.

Inner Beauty
If you’re wondering why the 60D will cost less than the 7D, look to their respective innards. Both have 18MP CMOS sensors capable of capturing 14-bits of color data per channel in RAW mode—as does the T2i. But the 60D, also like the T2i, has a fourchannel readout and a single Digic 4 processor; the 7D’s eightchannel readout lets it move data faster to increase processing speeds and support a pair of Digic 4 processors.

As a result, the 60D shoots in bursts at a top rate of 5.3 frames per second, compared with the 8 fps of the 7D. Still, 5.3 fps is quite fast—Nikon’s two-year-old D90 captures at a maximum of 4.5 fps. And further, Canon states that the 60D can capture a very respectable 58 Large/Fine JPEGs, 16 RAW, or 7 RAW + JPEG shots per burst.

Why would you want to pay more for the 60D than the T2i? Consider the 60D’s wireless flash control. Like the 7D, it can both trigger and control the output of Canon EX-series Speedlites through the pop-up flash. The 60D also gives a top shutter speed of 1/8000 sec, one stop faster than the T2i’s maximum, to freeze very fast action or limit depth of field in very bright light.

The 60D beats the T2i in power supply, too. Its LP-E6 rechargeable Li-ion battery (the same type used in the 7D and 5D Mark II) gives you more than double the number of shots as the T2i’s battery. Canon says that the 60D will shoot up to 1,100 images (half with flash) if you use solely the optical viewfinder, or 320 with live view. The T2i musters only 440 or 180 shots, respectively. In our time with a preproduction model, we were able to shoot for an entire day in Yellowstone—doing a healthy amount of live-view shooting and video capture—without running out of battery power.

And we also felt a little safer carrying the 60D when it started to drizzle. While it doesn’t have the more extensive weathersealing of the 7D, it does have more protection against the elements than the T2i. The modest amount of rain that fell on our preproduction sample didn’t cause any problems, but if you’re planning to shoot in wet weather, a rain cover would still be a good idea.

All three of those EOS models offer video capture of 1080p at 30 fps or 24 fps, and 720p at up to 60 fps, recorded as MOV files using the H.264 codec. The footage we shot with the 60D looked quite nice and on a par with what we saw from the T2i. The two cameras also share the same 63-point iFCL metering system, which combines focus, color, and luminance information to help determine the proper exposure. The color information can help prevent certain hues from being blown out or underexposed. As on the 7D, the metering sensor has two layers, one sensitive to red and green, the other to blue and green. This design prevents oversensitivity to red, which Canon says has led to overexposure with cameras using a single-layer metering sensor.

Overall Experience
In two very full days of shooting with the Canon EOS 60D in Yellowstone, we found it for the most part comfortable to use. We were able to switch all the settings relatively quickly (with the annoying exception of movie mode), and the articulating LCD led us to use live view much more than we would have without such a screen. This also let us brace the camera on a railing or in the nook of a rock when a tripod was not an option.

Autofocus was responsive, similar to that of the 50D—makes sense, since they share the same AF system, with nine cross-type focus points. In live-view shooting, though, the AF was either clunky (using the phase-detection AF via a mirror fiip) or sluggish (using the contrast- based AF). The contrast AF did seem a little faster, although it may still hunt, and there is no continuous AF in video mode.

Given that the older 50D ended up being outshone even by this spring’s Rebel T2i, we have to say that the 60D reestablishes a distinctive model at this middle level of the EOS line.

It’s also noteworthy that Canon provided an articulating screen on a camera aimed at more sophisticated users than the target market of Nikon’s sole DSLR with this feature, the D5000. It affirms that video has a place in higher-end DSLRs, and that video will continue to be a Canon priority going forward.

We look forward to taking a much closer look at the 60D in the Popular Photography Test Lab as soon as we get a flnal production sample.

Canon 60D Video Sample from Pop Photo on Vimeo.

Note: Reduced video quality due to Vimeo upload.

The post Hands On: Canon EOS 60D DSLR appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.

A few months ago, we spent several days shooting with a preproduction sample—a not-quite-ready-for-prime- time version—of the Canon 60D ($1,100, street, body only), and described our favorable first impressions in the October 2010 issue of the magazine.

But now that we’ve been able to see how a full production model performs in the Popular Photography Test Lab, it’s clear that this 18MP Canon is going to be a big star.

Canon positions the 60D in a midlevel niche between its consumer-oriented Rebel line and more rugged and pro- oriented 7D. The only truly direct competitor for this successor to the popular 50D is Nikon’s new D7000 (Lab test coming soon).

In the Test Lab
In overall image quality, this time around it’s Canon’s turn to shine, with an Excellent rating from ISO 100 through ISO 800, based on our tests. The Nikon, with a 16.2MP sensor and slightly more noise, scored Extremely High in the same ISO range, just a notch behind.

In our resolution test, the Canon 60D turned in an Excellent 2600 lines per picture height. Plus, it did an admirable job of holding onto that resolution as ISO increased maintaining 2500 lines at ISO 6400 when using the manufacturer’s default level of noise reduction in converting 14-bit RAW images into 16-bit TIFFs. At the camera’s top sensitivity setting of ISO 12,800, under the same test conditions, resolution dropped to 2330 lines, still enough for an Extremely High rating on our scale.

Color accuracy was a much closer race. Both the Canon and Nikon scored Excellent, with a negligible difference in average Delta E, a measure of color variation.

In noise suppression, the 60D pulled a surprise upset. Canon managed to keep noise lower at its default settings than Nikon did, despite the 60D’s extra megapixels. In our test, the 60D scored a Low or better ratings from ISO 100 through ISO 800. It didn’t reach an Unacceptable rating until ISO 6400, while the D7000 did so at ISO 3200. In fact, the Canon turned in lower noise results at every ISO the two cameras share, except at ISO 800, where they tied. (The 60D doesn’t go past ISO 12,800; the D7000 reaches one more stop to ISO 25,600.)

We do all of our tests using the manufacturer’s default setting in its own RAW conversion software. Both the Canon and Nikon RAW conversion software leave plenty of room for extra noise reduction for your images—but you’ll likely sacrifice some resolving power.

When it comes to autofocus, the 60D isn’t the fastest on the market at the brightest portion of our test—honors there go to the more expensive Olympus E-5 and less costly Sony Alpha 55. It squeaked ahead of the D7000 by just a few hundredths of a second down through EV 4. Once we turned the lights down to EV 2 (think a dimly lit interior), the Canon took a stronger lead, focusing in 0.59 sec versus the Nikon’s 0.76.

The gap widened further at EV 1 and EV 0, then narrowed again at EV –1 (like a field lit by the full moon), with both cameras focusing in just under 1 sec. Although Canon rates its system as effective down to just EV –0.5, in our test it managed to focus (in just over 1 sec) in the very dim light of EV –2, where the D7000 couldn’t make it.

Sample images in our Hands-On Report

In the Field
While the Canon 60D doesn’t break new ground with its body design, it’s a pleasure to use. Its dual command wheels make changing settings a breeze. Especially nice is the fact that you can use the rear command wheel to set exposure compensation in aperture- or shutter-priority modes—without having to hold down the exposure comp button at the same time, as you do on the D7000.

At long last, Canon took a cue from Olympus and included a fully articulated LCD screen in the 60D. Presumably, the designers did this to benefit video capture, which delivers very pleasing footage at up to 1920×1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. While it certainly does make shooting video more convenient, we found ourselves just as often moving the monitor around for shooting stills in live-view mode.

The flexibility made it much easier to frame shots of glass-enclosed exhibits in the American Museum of Natural History, for instance: With the front of the lens pressed to the glass to avoid reflections, we ended up looking down at the LCD, as you would when framing with a waist-level reflex camera.

Granted, the contrast AF in live-view mode remains sluggish compared with the phase-detection AF used with the optical viewfinder, but when your subject isn’t moving, and you can take some time to compose the image, it works well. We did like Nikon’s flip- switch better for entering and exiting live-view mode, and its proximity to the video-record button makes shooting movies a much more seamless experience than with the Canon. On the 60D, you have to enter a special video mode using the mode dial to record video.

Burst shooters should appreciate the 60D’s ability to capture up to 58 full-size, highest-quality JPEGs at 5.3 frames per second. That’s significantly more than the D7000’s 31 shots, though the Nikon captures at 6 fps. When the difference in frame rate is as small as this, we tend to prefer the ability to shoot more images per burst. Typical of cameras in this class, the 60D has plenty of options for customization. You can reverse the direction of the command wheels, and assign the function of numerous buttons to configure the camera to your shooting style. As with the EOS 7D, there’s a handy screen that shows you the buttons that you’re changing so you don’t have to hunt for them when setting up the camera.

Two minor places where the 60D doesn’t match the Nikon D7000 are its viewfinder and memory card slot. The Nikon’s finder is 100 percent accurate, while the 60D sports a 96% accurate finder. If you’ve never shot with a 100% accurate finder, then you won’t notice the difference, but if you have, or if you are extremely picky about what you place at the edge of your frame and don’t like to crop, then you might want to consider the Nikon, or Canon’s EOS 7D.

The D7000 also has dual SD card slots. This can come in handy for backups, but isn’t as big a deal as the viewfinder.

The Bottom Line
Choosing an advanced DSLR is never easy. If you’re already a Canon shooter and wondering whether to upgrade to the 60D, it makes plenty of sense to do so. It surpasses the 50D in most areas, while adding video capture and an articulated screen. If you’re trying to choose between the Canon 60D and the Canon D7000, as we said in the Nikon’s test, we give the edge to Canon. It has higher resolution, one stop better noise control (and more resolving power to sacrifice if you opt for heavier noise reduction), and can focus in dimmer light than the Nikon. Case closed.

Specifications:
IMAGING: 18MP effective APS-C sized CMOS sensor captures images at 5184×3456 pixels each, with 14 bits/color in RAW.
STORAGE: SD/SDHC/SDXC stores JPEG, CR2 RAW, and RAW+JPEG files.
BURST RATE: Full-sized JPEGs (Fine mode) up to 58 shots at 5.3 fps; RAW, up to 16 shots at 5.3 fps.
AF SYSTEM: TTL phase detection with 9 illuminated focus points (all cross-type); single-shot, continuous with Predictive AI Servo tracking. Tested sensitivity down to EV –2 (at ISO 100, f/1.4).
SHUTTER SPEEDS: 1/8000 to 30 sec, plus B (1/3-EV increments); 100,000-cycle rating.
METERING: 63-zone TTL metering, evaluative, partial (6.5% of finder), centerweighted, and spot (2.8% of finder), EV 1–20 (ISO 100, f/1.4).
VIDEO: Records at up to 1920×1080 at 30fps; or 1280×720 at 60fps in MPEG 4 H.264 MOV format; built-in mono microphone, stereo minijack input.
ISO RANGE: ISO 100–6,400; expands to ISO 12,800 (in 1/3-EV increments).
FLASH: Built-in pop-up with E-TTL II autoflash and wireless triggering of optional flash units, GN 43 (ISO 100, feet), covers the field of view of a 17mm lens; flash sync to 1/250 sec.
VIEWFINDER: Fixed eye-level pentaprism. LCD: 3-inch articulated TFT with 1.04 million-dot resolution.
OUTPUT: Hi-Speed USB 2.0, composite video.
BATTERY: Rechargeable LP-E6 Li-ion, CIPA rating 1100 shots.
SIZE/WEIGHT: 5.7×4.2×3.1 in., 1.7 lb with an SD card and battery.
STREET PRICE: $1,100, body only; $1,400, with 18-135mm lens.
INFO: www.canoneos.com

The post Canon 60D Lab Test: Impressive Performance appeared first on Popular Photography.

Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.